programme but funding for it has been cut. There are inaccessible restaurants
and toilets, and a lack of changing places—not least in this building. Floating
bus stops are not always near zebra crossings, or the island may be too
narrow for wheelchair users. In hotels, there is a lack of definition
of what their accessibility actually is. It should not be just putting in a grab rail.
Their walk-in showers may not have a seat. If you want to go out to the cinema or a
restaurant, you can have only one friend, because that is the way they are set up.
When I took my daughter to see “Winnie the Pooh” when she was three, I was told
that, because she was not my carer, she was not allowed to sit with
me and had to sit 20 rows away. There are issues with access to sport, and
to buses. There is only one wheelchair space per bus. On flying, I am only
going to mention Frank Gardner. I will briefly mention trains, which were
meant to be step-free by 1 January 2020. By the Government’s own data, it will take 100 years to
make that change. Transport for the North launched an accessibility survey and found that only 48% of
its stations had step-free access. Greater Anglia trains are fantastic for level boarding but, when
I asked about accessibility, I was told not to worry because I would be in sight of the café-bar.
All my dreams for inclusion became as one when I realised that I could see the café-bar, but
could not actually buy anything from it. London Bridge has no contingency
plan for a single lift failure, yet billions were spent on its refurbishment.
Crossrail has level boarding only at its core. The lifts have been out at St Pancras for months.
I can access only one-third of Tube stations. The Network Rail map has inaccurate information:
it tells me that the lifts are working at my local station—fantastic—but
my local station has no lifts. Our legal right to turn up and go is being
eroded, because we are being forced to book through an app that has no in-app contacts.
You cannot buy tickets and it does not show lift status. Every trip is a magical
mystery tour. It goes on. Shockingly, John Pring from the Disability News Service
reported that market-testing companies are using non-disabled people to pretend to
be disabled to test the access app. I am very interested in understanding what the
noble Viscount thinks of that. I have deep admiration for Doug Paulley, who continues
to fight for change through legal means. Lack of ATP enforcement means that luggage is
put in wheelchair spaces. There are no primary or secondary timescales in the draft
rail reform Bill. Accessibility is seen as an add-on or a nice-to-have. Disabled
people cannot buy concessionary tickets through ticket vending machines, except for on
Northern. You have to buy them through ticket offices—and we saw what happened with them
last year. ScotRail has not changed its ATP, so mobility scooter users are not
allowed to travel on Scottish trains. They can get there by Avanti or LNER,
but they might not be able to get home. Today, Southeastern announced that it is
moving towards level boarding and Steve White, the CEO, said that anyone bidding for
contracts has to show level boarding, but there is no guarantee
that it will ever happen. Tony Jennings wrote to me saying that he cannot
turn up and go at his nearest station outside staffed hours, because there is a barrow crossing. I could go on: lack of EV charging;
inaccessible dental chairs; not buying the right wheelchairs for
the right people at the right time; disability hate crime; Covid; elective
office—I have run out of time. I understand that the noble Viscount
is not able to answer these questions, but I would welcome any of the departments
writing to me to continue this conversation.